Omicron: a drug developer’s perspective
Fang Fang, Pei‐Yong Shi
Abstract
We performed an annotation of 35 mutations in the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. Our analysis of the mutations indicates that Omicron has gained prominent immune evasion and potential for enhanced transmissibility. Previous modeling study has revealed that continued evolution in both immune evasion and enhanced transmissibility by SARS-CoV-2 would compromise vaccines as tools for the pandemic control. To combat the future variants of SARS-CoV-2, the world needs novel antiviral drugs that are effective at curb viral spreading without introducing additional selective pressure towards resistant variants.
Topics & Concepts
Transmissibility (structural dynamics)Evasion (ethics)Computational biologyImmune systemVirologyDrugPerspective (graphical)Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)Immune escapeBiologyCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)MedicineGeneticsComputer sciencePharmacologyDiseaseArtificial intelligencePhysicsPathologyInfectious disease (medical specialty)VibrationQuantum mechanicsVibration isolationSARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 ResearchViral Infections and Outbreaks Researchvaccines and immunoinformatics approaches